8 Things You Need To Know This A.M.

8 Things You Need To Know This A.M. — Dec 23 2015

A Texas grand jury declined to indict anyone in the death of Sandra Bland.

After months of protests and trending hashtags, the Waller County grand jury decided that no felony crime was committed by law enforcement officers or the county jail staff in connection with the death of 28-year-old Sandra Bland. The jury is set to reconvene in January to determine whether Brain Encinia, the white state trooper who arrested Bland, should be indicted. (Read More)

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Most Americans are unlikely to experience a white Christmas this year.

Meteorologists at the Weather Channel determined that you won’t see a “white Christmas,” i.e., "at least one inch of snow on the ground on Christmas morning." But if you’ll be opening gifts somewhere in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, the Dakotas or parts of Oregon, California, Nevada, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, you may have just enough flurries to reenact your favorite brutal nightmare scene from The Revenant. (Read More)

The Mall of America filed a restraining order against Black Lives Matter protesters.

Attorneys for the nation’s largest mall asked a Minnesota judge to issue a temporary restraining order against Black Lives Matter organizers, in an effort to block a rally. It is scheduled to be held in the mall’s rotunda on December 23rd — one of the biggest shopping days of the year. The demonstration was planned in response to the death of Jamar Clark, a 24-year-old man shot by Minneapolis police. (Read More)

Jennifer Lawrence admitted to kissing Liam Hemsworth off camera, and gave Justin Bieber a “hard no."

Jennifer Lawrence visited Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live! headquarters Monday night, ostensibly to promote Joy. However, Lawrence confessed to giving her Hunger Games co-star Liam Hemsworth a little loving IRL. “Liam and I grew up together,” she said, after host Andy Cohen asked whether the pair ever kissed off camera . “Liam’s real hot. What would you have done? Yeah.” But would Lawrence ever give the Biebz a shot? "I'm going to say a hard no," she revealed. “But thanks.” (Read More)

A secret service agent’s gun and badge were stolen in broad daylight.

According to a police report, a thief broke into a Secret Service agent’s personal car on Monday afternoon, escaping with the agent’s badge, handgun, radio, handcuffs and encrypted flash drive. The incident took place near the agency’s Washington headquarters, and is just the latest in an extensive string of security breaches that have many questioning the Secret Service’s abilities. (CNN)

Renée Zellweger addressed the controversy and speculation surrounding her appearance.

Last year, the internet devolved into a black hole of awful sexist headlines and side-by-side photos after Renée Zellweger appeared on Elle's 2014 Women in Hollywood red carpet, looking somewhat different than usual. Although the scrutiny was loud and cruel, Zellweger steered clear the toxicity and critics’ thinkpieces. “All that I know about is what friends and associates would send in texts and emails,” the actress told Entertainment Weekly. "What good comes from knowing that something like that has happened? Less fear,” she said. (Read More)

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Kim Kardashian apologized for breaking the internet (again).

Kim Kardashian may have actually broken the internet this time around. The reality star, who released her KIMOJI app this week, apologized to Apple after keyboard downloads allegedly clogged the app store. She also expressed disbelief over the popularity of the KIMOJI launch. (Come on, Kim. Don't play coy. You knew this was going to make a major splash.) As to whether it was truly KIMOJI that slowed down the Apple store: no definitive word on that. (Read More)

One of the writers behind the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” revealed the song’s surprisingly dirty message.

Who didn’t spend an inordinate amount of their young girlhood standing in front of a mirror singing the lyrics to the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe?" Sure, some of the lyrics are confusing — “zig-a-zig-ah,” anyone? — but it’s an anthem all about the power of friendship, right? Well, apparently not: one of the song’s co-writers revealed to The Daily Star that Scary Spice’s rap is filled with sly drug references, “G like MC who likes it on an / Easy V doesn’t come for free” translating to “Geri like Mel C likes to have sex on ecstasy.” (Read More)